Kara (16 page)

It was a steep staircase of twelve steps;
narrow and direct toward an archway at the bottom of the descent.
Grace and Ynob disappeared through that archway. Kara and Snow took
their time, not knowing what lie ahead.

Through the passage, a huge room opened up.
The walls glowed eerily but there were torches, candles, and other
flames that provided light. The area remained dim.

This room, the wizard’s whole domain, held
many things for the eyes to behold. One table held a vast
collection of bubbling liquids and jars of different colored
solutions. Kara stared at the jars, entranced by the smoke coming
from the tops of a few.

Kara reached for one but her hand passed
through the whole collection, as if it were an illusion.

“Yes, everyone falls for that.” Ynob casually
said as he walked behind them, carrying a sword. Both Kara and Snow
jumped. They looked toward him, but he was already off to another
place in the room.

Grace hovered in the middle of the expanse,
while the wizard walked about with some type of urn from one side
of the room to the other. Kara and Snow slowly made their way to
Grace, but still looked around the place fascinated and a bit
fearful.

“So you brought me a human, Grace. How
wonderful!” Ynob said with detached sarcasm. He did little to
acknowledge Snow.

Startled by the response, Kara asked, “But
aren’t you a human?” The wizard ignored Kara. She looked toward
Snow who gave an unsure nod.

Ynob passed a hearth. A fire sparked and then
ignited into a roaring blaze. The extra light illuminated more of
the underground den. Kara noticed the ceiling for the first time.
It was like a dirt floor turned upside down. Small roots stuck out
in places, but the ceiling looked safe. She stretched her hand up
to touch it, but it was still out of her reach.

Snow gave a small gasp as something brushed
past her foot. She grabbed Kara tightly.

“Don’t mind Herc.” Ynob remarked offhandedly.
“He’s friendly, unless you’re a mouse. Then he’s like a Lire wolf.”
Kara looked down at the odd animal. It reminded her of Birch, yet
it definitely looked catlike. An eerie smile crept onto Herc’s
face.

Ynob’s comments came from different sides of
the room, and still he hadn’t stopped to take the time to introduce
himself. Kara found that rude, but she remained too mesmerized by
his dwelling to speak up.

Light danced off the monstrous skull of a
beast that could have only come from legendary myths of old. It
inspired awe yet incited fear. The light from the fire ignited the
long fangs. If she had to guess at what the creature was, Kara
would say a dragon or another relative of such a critter. The empty
eye sockets stared at her, seeming to peer deep within her
bones.

“Okay, enough chit chat. As you can see, I am
fantastically busy.” Wizard Ynob appeared in front of the two
girls, knuckles on his hips, finally taking note of them.

He wasn’t what one would typically think of
when using the term
wizard
. He did not wear a pointed hat,
but he did wear a robe fastened down the front and tailored to fit
his form closely. The cuffs were big, yet not sloppy, and the
garment hung right above his boots.

A brown beard, trimmed sharply around the jaw
line, formed somewhat of an inverted heart around his mouth. His
face appeared youthful, yet his demeanor and expressions suggested
wisdom of age. Brown shaggy hair crept around his ears, but none
fell upon his shoulders.

Nobody spoke. Ynob’s hazel eyes held a stern
gaze.

“Well, I know you can speak. So tell me,
human, why have you come to visit the Great Wizard Ynob?” His hands
accentuated his name with wide arcs.

Grace started to twitter, but Ynob cut her
short.

“No, no. Just because you helped me out that
one time….”

Grace gave a little blurt.

“Okay, twice. I knew I should have never let
you have access to the door.” Ynob turned his attention back to
Kara and Snow. “Well, rabbit, what say you?”

Snow was startled. “How did you know?”

“I am all-seeing and all-knowing. Just like I
know your brother is a fox and he hangs out with that dork.”

Grace corrected him.

“Dwarc…whatever. Again, wasting my valuable
time. Thank you. Come again later…much later.” And Ynob turned his
back on them.

“Sir, if you could just look at my necklace?”
Kara said, taking a few steps after him. He turned on her suddenly
and they were face-to-face.

“Sir? I haven’t been called that in a
monkey’s age. Ha! But, really, human, you must go. Just follow the
stairs up and out the door you go.” And just as suddenly, he turned
his back to her again and walked to another part of the room.

Kara stood there shocked, confused, and a bit
offended. Grace chased the wizard this time. She sprite-spoke as
she got close. Again, Ynob turned abruptly, causing Grace to veer
around him.

“Magical necklace? I’m surprised at you,
Grace.” He just shook his head, as the sprite flew around his head
and in front of his face. “Do you know how many people try to bring
me enchanted objects to look at? ‘Oh, wizard, come look. I have a
magical fire poker. It’s magic and pokes fire. Come see.’” He threw
his hands in the air, brushed Grace away.

Kara felt disappointment sink in, as well as
a little dislike toward the wizard. If all magical people were like
this, no wonder King La’ard didn’t want any speaking ones in his
kingdom.

Snow tried next to coax the wizard, but even
before she muttered a word, Ynob cut her off.

“Tut, tut, tut, tut. There’s no need to go
on. I’m not interested.”

It was getting warm in the house. Kara
removed her shawl. As soon as they were outside again, she would
probably have to put it back on. Her fingers touched the necklace.
Again it was cool to her touch but warm around her neck. It glowed
faintly.

She decided one more time to confront the
stubborn wizard. Kara marched up to where he fiddled with some
vials on a table. “It’s this necklace that I want you to look at.
It will only take a moment and then we will be gone.” Her voice
came out forceful and demanding.

Ynob stopped what he was doing and slowly
turned to face Kara. He did not look happy, and he opened his mouth
to tell her so. But he caught sight of the necklace and his words
stopped. Ynob stared, eyes growing wide, and Kara began to fear
what he knew as she watched his expression change.

The wizard’s mouth moved and it was a moment
before words came out, but neither Snow nor Kara understood them.
Long chants of a language that sounded ancient came from him. Kara
and Snow looked at each other and then at Grace. It was hard to
tell if the sprite knew what he was saying.

He finished with a word that sounded like
hissing. Pushing past Kara, Ynob found a chair and sat. The others
gathered in around him.

“So you can tell me about this necklace?”
Kara asked after a moment.

The wizard turned to look at her. “I know it
means death to those who wear it.”

***

Katrena followed the blood trail back to the
wolf attack. The wolves had long since departed and were probably
sleeping well. It appeared that Skrag was only the appetizer.
Behind a bush lay the carcass of a deer. And just before she left,
she saw a gnome hat crusted with blood. Dessert.

The dark elf spent little time at the scene
and tracked Skrag to the were clan house. Cautiously she
approached, weapons at the ready, but she soon determined no one
was at home. She cursed under her breath, as her mind began to
think of other possible locations for the human girl.
Argh!
Where did she go?
Her temper began to flare. Quickly, Katrena
cooled it, knowing her emotions would hinder her assassin
skills.

Caw!

Normally, when she was on par, nothing could
startle Katrena. Those easily surprised usually wound up dead even
before they realized the element of awe didn’t work. This time she
was not calm, and the caw caused her to jump. But within a second,
she had her composure back and a mini crossbow ready to aim.
Katrena found the crow through the weapon’s sight, its mocking eyes
staring at her as if laughing.

“Stupid bird.” Katrena lowered the weapon and
began to examine the property. She scoured the ground for clues,
hints, and tracks. She found two groups of tracks, barely visible
through the morning dew.

One set, that of a fox and something larger,
headed toward the road. Another pair, a rabbit track and a humanoid
track led into the forest making a new path.

“Where are you off to, Kara?” Katrena’s voice
was barely a whisper. The crow let out a startled cry.

Katrena turned back to look at the bird, that
now appeared agitated. She gave it a hard look and turned her back.
She heard flapping wings. Katrena turned, aimed, and pulled the
trigger.

Thunk
!

Caw!

The rush of adrenaline, the feel of the
weapon releasing gave her a jolt of pleasure. She hid the emotion
behind a bland façade and calmly approached her kill. She always
retrieved her bolts. A good assassin left nothing behind at the
scene. Except a corpse.

Once the crossbow was loaded again and stored
on her hip, Katrena followed the rabbit tracks into the woods. Kara
would soon be in her grasp.

And another mission completed.

***

Jesset grasped the window frame and stared at
the sparrow perched on the sill in front of him.

Soldiers coming.

They’d found him?

“How many?”

Seven.

They were coming for him.

“Find any animals you can and get them here,”
Jesset ordered the bird and quickly went to grab a sword. But his
weapons rack lay bare. He had delivered an order just yesterday and
had not yet begun the next. He began to panic.

Two squirrels jumped in through the window.
His bird friend was recruiting well. Before he could address the
squirrels, his deer friends poked their head in. Birch wanted to
join the group, but he became too excited by the snakes that
slithered in.

“My friends, I don’t have much time to
explain. Soldiers are coming to take me. You need to provide a
distraction so I can get away. These men are dangerous, so be
careful.”

“Mordock! We know you are in there!”

He looked out the window and spied the
familiar violet and silver uniforms of the Witch Guard. “They’re
here! Go, and thank you,” Jesset whispered. He fought to keep his
fear from taking control.

The animals scattered except for Birch. He
barked once.

Startled, Jesset quickly knelt. “I know you
want to help, but you need to hide. For Kara’s sake.” He rubbed the
dog’s head before standing again.

A commotion broke out in the front of the
house. His distraction was happening, but he felt guilty about
using his animal friends. He peeked out the door.

The two scouts suddenly returned from the
side of the house, waving their hands, smacking their chest armor.
Two of his squirrel friends were attacking the soldiers. The
animals bit at the exposed flesh between the armor plates. One
squirrel jumped on to a mounted soldier’s horse, spooking the beast
into a run. The stallion sped forward, underneath a low hanging
branch.

Crack!

The branch broke, taking the soldier with
it.

Shortly after one man went down, another
soldier suddenly screamed and fell from his horse. The squirrel
bounded away.

Jesset watched in amazement. His friends were
holding their own. Maybe they could even chase off the
soldiers.

He saw the leader of the group turn in a
circle, bewildered and confused by what was happening. The same
soldier who had confronted him in the field with Kara.

A bird dove at the leader’s face. He drew his
sword while dodging. Other swords emerged from their scabbards,
metal ringing against metal. The two fallen soldiers got to their
feet. Jesset’s moment of hope fled him. Weapons were out. How would
he ever get out of the cottage with so many Witch Guard around?

Jesset crept to the back door on his hands
and knees. He quietly turned the knob and heard hissing.

The horses discovered the snakes before their
riders. Jesset turned to watch. Two horses reared up, hooves
kicking in the air. One Witch Guard soldier fell completely off,
while the other fell but got his foot caught in the stirrup. This
frightened the horse even more and it took off at a panicked canter
dragging the rider away.

The two scouts chased the snakes into the
brush. They slashed at the bushes, trying to kill them. A blur of
brown butted one of the soldiers. He flew back, spiraled in the
air, and crashed onto the ground face first. A doe wobbled next to
the second guard, stunned from the blow. The man raised his sword
to lop its head off when he sailed back, landing in a heap. A large
antlered buck had just charged him protecting his mate.

The leader again stood there, shock evident
upon his face. But he quickly moved forward to attack. The buck had
time only to lift its head to see the sword slicing downward,
delivering a killing blow.

The doe caught sight of her mate’s death,
before an icy cold blade sliced into her heart. Another soldier had
joined in the fight. He slid his saber from the animal and let it
fall.

“No!” Jesset cried out. He did not want this.
Grief swelled within him, holding him rooted to the spot. The
soldiers advanced, swords drawn.

Quickly, he turned and ran through the back
door. Heavy footfalls pursued him.

A squirrel sat on the roof.
I can
help
.

Jesset turned slightly, to tell him no, but
the animal was already in the air.

The leader had been chasing him. He dodged
the attack effortlessly, then spun, aimed and pinned the squirrel
to the ground with his sword. It gave a small squeak and went
limp.